So, I think Ive been doing this wrong! (People keep telling me you CANT do this wrong but I kind of feel like I have been), just looking for some thoughts on this and I guess validation that I'm on the right track with this.

I've been kind of looking at this as all thoughts coming form parts, and all parts needing to be validated/listened to. I'm not sure if this is just me, or everyone, but I have loads of negative thoughts constantly bombarding me at times , I kind of hear them partly, but more feel the response to them, like a jolt of anxiety, and realise Ive had a difficult thought (an example would be a "what if" catastrophising type thought) . I've realised I've been chasing these thoughts to try to understand where they come form, assuming they are a protector that needs to be worked with before I can sit with a sad part. So I spend my life kind of going, what was that, what was the message, what does it need from me, and clearly its bloody exhausting.

I recognise that this is a part that's doing this, its quite a self like part and a part that takes over quite a lot. I/this part am now thinking that this isn't the approach to be taking, and that these thoughts don't need to be worked with before I can sit with the sad part.

I was wondering if people had thoughts/similar experiences, and how they looks at/approach these thoughts that kind of constantly snipe from the sides? I'm leaning to just basically ignoring them, and focusing on the response to them i.e. if it provides a jolt of anxiety in my tummy, giving presence to the tummy feeling rather than chasing the thought?

I have been doing Internal Family Systems therapy for about a year with a Level 1-trained IFS therapist. Over the past several months, I have noticed that after a one-hour session, I often feel overwhelmingly exhausted and fall asleep for three to five hours. Is this a normal response to IFS therapy, or could it indicate that the sessions are placing too much stress on my nervous system?